My Contract Husband Demands a Divorce - Chapter 62

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Marquis’s Daughter flushed deep red with shame.
When she opened her mouth to speak again, Princess Lucretia cut her off.
“Setting the dress aside, what about trying to kill a child? Isn’t that far more malicious? Why don’t you demand evidence for that too? If you do, I can have this boy Tommy’s father brought right back here.”
This was exactly what I had been waiting for.
Turning to a nearby attendant, I spoke softly.
“Could you go to the Huniswald carriage and fetch my husband?”
The attendant tilted his head in slight confusion but bowed politely before hurrying away.
A flicker of unease began to cloud Princess Lucretia’s eyes.
Before long, Scheit walked into the venue with Tommy by his side.
“It turns out my husband had been keeping the boy safe.”
Princess Lucretia shut her mouth tight, seemingly recognizing Tommy’s face.
“Why are you silent? I thought you would demand we call Tommy’s father to verify whether this child is truly Tommy or not.”
“…….”
“Or is there no need for verification? Because you already know what Tommy looks like?”
Princess Lucretia bit her lip raw.
“Tommy, would you tell everyone? Who instructed you to throw stones at the horse I was riding?”
The moment Tommy opened his mouth to speak, Melis, who had been merely watching the situation unfold, suddenly blurted out.
“Actually!”
As everyone’s eyes shifted toward her, a smile of pure thrill spread across Melis’s face.
“I saw it. Princess Lucretia’s lady-in-waiting was giving money to a servant of the Huniswald Barony, telling him to keep the ruined dress a secret and leave the Capital.”
It wasn’t about Tommy.
Realizing that Princess Lucretia was at a disadvantage, Melis seemed to have stepped forward to take my side.
Or perhaps she simply wanted to be the center of attention.
The surrounding reaction was mixed.
“But strictly speaking, she only saw the lady-in-waiting doing the bribing, not the Princess herself.”
“Would a lady-in-waiting ever do such a thing without her master’s permission?”
I caught Princess Lucretia shifting her gaze and nudging her lady-in-waiting in the back.
It was a blatant ploy to pin all the blame on her subordinate.
After a brief hesitation, the lady-in-waiting stepped forward and dropped to her knees.
“I did it.”
She glanced up at her mistress before continuing.
“The Princess was deeply saddened and distressed because Baroness Huniswald was seducing Prince Kildian. That is why I acted out of anger. I have committed a sin worthy of death.”
Weaving an insult into her confession at a time like this.
I didn’t know whether to call it brilliant or utterly foolish.
A hollow laugh escaped me.
At that, Lucretia took a step back.
“It seems my lady-in-waiting acted out of misplaced loyalty. I had no idea, and I pushed the Baroness too hard. I shall see to it that she is punished. Amarynthis is generous, so I am sure you will let this slide? Just like when Princess Isoldra’s servant accidentally gave you that low chair.”
She was telling me to drop the matter since an apology had been made.
Princess Isoldra frowned slightly at the mention of her own name but chose not to intervene.
I held Princess Isoldra’s gaze for a brief second before turning to Lucretia.
“No. I cannot forgive this.”
The moment I refused, Princess Lucretia scoffed with a look of utter disdain.
“Then what do you propose to do? Are you going to punish me, a princess of an allied nation, just because a servant made a little mistake?”
“…….”
“And look at that child, Tommy or whatever his name is. He looks plump and healthy, with plenty of color in his face. Didn’t you feed him a bunch of delicacies and stuff money in his pockets to make him lie?”
Tommy did look rather well-kept, to be fair.
That was all thanks to Tristan sitting by his side to play with him, teach him, and feed him diligently.
To anyone looking, he certainly didn’t seem like a child who had nearly died.
As mocking laughter began to ripple through the crowd, Princess Lucretia grew even more arrogant.
“Ah! Could that commotion in front of the Opera House have been a farce you staged yourself? You probably hired someone because you felt the public’s attention fading and wanted to be the center of gossip again. And you framed me in the process.”
My jaw dropped.
I was genuinely impressed.
With that kind of imagination, why on earth hadn’t Princess Lucretia become a novelist?
It was a tragic waste of talent.
Taking advantage of my speechlessness, she smiled triumphantly.
“See? You can’t say a single word because I am absolutely right. Bring me physical proof, Amarynthis. Stop trying to slander me by bringing out a chubby, unblemished child like that.”
I stared at her for a long moment, then smiled.
I had no intention of pushing her any further here anyway.
“Don’t be so defensive, Lucretia. I merely wanted to clear my name.”
Lucretia narrowed her eyes sharply, scanning me from head to toe.
Seeing me back down so easily, she bit her lip, likely suspecting I was plotting something else.
“Even so, that lady-in-waiting will have to be investigated. As you know, hiring someone to harm a noble, framing another, and attempting to murder a child are grave crimes that cannot be overlooked lightly.”
The Palace Guard marched in, grabbing the lady-in-waiting by the arms and pulling her to her feet.
Princess Lucretia could only clench her fists in silence, watching her servant being dragged away.
Scheit placed a hand on my shoulder as if to comfort me for my hard work.
“I shall return after taking Tommy home.”
I nodded.
I had never expected Tommy to serve as a definitive witness.
From the very beginning, if Princess Lucretia decided to cut her losses and deny everything, there was little I could do without physical evidence.
Nevertheless, there was only one reason I had brought Tommy before the crowd.
It was to ensure everyone saw Tommy’s face and understood exactly what role the boy had played.
Now, if anything were to happen to Tommy, it would look as though Princess Lucretia had done it to destroy evidence.
Even if only for her own safety, Princess Lucretia would not dare harm him.
Otherwise, her frantic efforts to save herself by sacrificing her servant would be entirely in vain.
Once it was clear that the whole thing had been a misunderstanding, people began creeping back toward me.
Some claimed they knew it all along, while others insisted they had never believed such ridiculous rumors from the start.
Flipping their attitudes like a palm of a hand to act friendly made me sick to my stomach.
I tried not to force a smile, but one slipped out out of sheer habit.
Instead of humoring them, I quickly brushed them off.
Realizing she had been played, the Marquis’s Daughter glared at Princess Lucretia as if she were a mortal enemy.
As she turned her head, our eyes met.
The noble lady looked guilty for a moment, then approached me and bowed her head.
“I am sorry, Amarynthis.”
“It is fine. Let us get along well, just as we did before.”
The Marquis’s Daughter smiled and nodded.
Just then, a trumpet blared.
It was the announcement of the Emperor’s arrival.
Princess Lucretia, who had been about to leave, stopped in her tracks.
Shortly after, the Emperor entered the venue.
Following closely behind him were the Empress, Kildian, and the second princess, Ranael.
The gathered crowd bowed in unison to show their respect.
I, too, curtsied low.
“Rise, everyone. There are many precious flowers again this year. I hope you all thoroughly enjoy their beauty.”
As the Emperor announced the start of the Flower Show with a brief greeting, music began to drift through the air.
The schedule for the Flower Show was straightforward.
The awards ceremony to select the finest flower and honor whoever submitted it would be followed by a Garden Party. After the Garden Party concluded, all the lights in the Palace would be extinguished for a fireworks display.
The next day, the winner would decide where to plant their submission. Once the flower-planting ceremony concluded during breakfast, the Flower Show would officially come to an end.
Since it was a two-day event, most of the attendees spent the night at the Palace and departed the following day.
I kept a close eye on the Emperor’s movements.
While the Emperor was inspecting the submitted flowers, Princess Isoldra whispered something to him.
Nodding, the Emperor looked intently at the rose I had submitted, murmuring in quiet admiration before tying a golden ribbon around its stem.
It was the Grand Prize.
As a smile rose to my lips, I caught sight of Princess Lucretia out of the corner of my eye, storming out of the venue with long strides.
Quietly, I followed after her.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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